Heat resistant box toe



J. J. DALY HEAT RESISTANT Box TOE Original Filed Jan. 13. 1927 Bavaria/1Jalal flaly March l, 1932.

am] n////////////// V// Patented Mar. 1, 1932 UNITED ySTATES PATENTOFFICE' JOHN J. DALY, OFNEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSICNOR To Annan Box TOECOMPANY, or WATERTOWN, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION or MASSACHUSETTS iHEAT RESISTANT BOX TOE `Application,filled. January 13,1921, Serial No.160,825. yRenewed August 1, 1931.`

In the development of the box toe shoe, the

box toe blank as the shape-retaining elementv of the toe has been givenconsiderable thought and study. Box toes are usually either hard orsoft. The soft box toe may be an all-rubber,allcork or all-leather blankor a combination of any of these with a slight percentage ofthermo-plastic impregnant to give the blank some stiffness. Theso-called -hard box toe is usually a layer of felt or other fibrousmaterial impregnated with a thermoplastic penetrant, usually of abituminous origin, so thatthe blankis normally hard and stiff, but iscapable of being softened under heat treatment to permit it to be moldedto conform to the shapeof the last.

In both types of box toes, certain characteristic diliiculties areexperiencedin' assembling the blank in the toe of the. shoe; Usuallythis is done' by stitching. the blank between the upper tip yleather andthe inner lining. In the case of thesoft box toe, a blank so stitchedwrinkles very easily below the stitch line. In kthe case of the hard boxtoe, the blank is softened by steam heat after it is laid in the shoe,so that it can be molded to conform to the .shape of the/last. Thesoftening operation releases the resinous'or bituminous impregnant, vsothat if suchA a blank is stitched at its tip line, theneedles inpenetrating the blank frequently break or become gummed so that thestitch on the tip looks coarse and out of line.

y To avoid these disadvantages, some manufacturers merely rlay theblank` between the lining and the upper material without stitching it atthe tip line. Thisy however, is not really satisfactory in that thetendency of the foot to work within the shoe causes the leather tip toslide or creep on the blank, producing a wrinkle and spoiling theappearance of the shoe.

Aside fromv the problem of its assembly, however, the box toe shoe, whenassembled, presents certain difficulties. particularly lin the Case ofthe hard box toe blank, which under some circumstances, as where theshoe is displayed in a Window. exposed to the direct'rays of the sun,especially in the summer time when the rays are hottest, softens to suchan extent that definite wrinkles, appear in the leather tip and blankdue to the tendency of the material of the blank to soften and cave in,due to the leather drawing like a rubber band over the arch of the toeblank made soft by the rays of the sun. This irremediably spoils theappearance of the toe, because when the toe blank cools, it hardens inthe shape to which it has been pulled down and cannot be restored to itsoriginal shape, frequently, the heat of the foot will cause this samecon# dition. v

To the end, therefore, of avoiding the foregoing defects, I have devisedmy presentinvention. According to it, I apply to the outer face of thebox toe blank, either adjacent the tip line only or throughy asubstantialA portion of such face, a heat-resistant adhesive coating,which, while resistant to the rays of the sun, is capable however ofbeing rendered sufiiciently sticky, as bythe sameheat treatment (orsteam treatment in case of a glue coating) which enables the toe blankto be molded to the shape of the llast in assembling the box toe. anditself adhesively connect the blank to the toe tip and'vamp of the shoewithout stitching. This resistant coating may be simply a film oflatently adhesive material which is capable of being rendered adhesiveby moist heat. by wetting, bv immersion lin a solvent. or by exposure tothe solventfvapor, and is different in character and results from thethermo-plastic impregnant with which the body of the hard box'toe blankis saturated. Y

Such a coating is, therefore, a coating of double function. It serves asa heat resistant film after the shoe is lasted, and during lasting`itanchors the blank to the toe tip and coated as lby dipping or passingthe blank over a roll running in the glue or melted gum.

Although various adhesives may be used and although th-e simple use ofan adhesive coating such as I have indicated, is in itself usuallysuflicient, I may build up the thickness of the-toe blank and thusincrease its strength and heat-resistant qualities, particularly alongthe tip line where the blank is sca-rfedfto make a neat joint,rby mixingwith the adhesive, a fibroussubstance such as as-V bestos fibres, whichhave a definite heat resistant effect. The manner of practicing myinvention, together with suitable box toe blanks illustratively treatedin accordance with the principles of my invention is described and shownin the accompanying specification and drawings', and the characteristicfeatures of novelty areparticularly pointed out in the appendedclaims..y rIhroughout the specification and'drawingslike referencenumerals are employed to indicate corresponding parts, and in thedrawings:

Fig. l/is apartial section through a lasted uppershowing a standard boxtoe blank assembled therein in accordance with my'invention.

Fig. 2 is a face view of the blank'removed.

Fig. 3 is aI section on the line 3 3, of Fig. 2, andy F ig. 4 is anexaggerated section showing a modification in which the combinationheatresistant and blank, vamp and tip connectingl adhesive film isaugmented by incorporating therewith certain heat-resistant fibres.

I shall first discuss my invention in its adaptation to hard box toeblanks. In commercial practice such blanks are usuallymanufactured insheet form and the individual blanks. subsequently struck therefrom.Each blank consists of Ya layer of felt or other fibrous material limpregnated with a therino-plastic .penetrant which is usually-ofbituminous'origin so as to be normally hard and stiff, but capable of fsoftening :under heat treatment to permit the blank t0 be molded toform. v

Accordingfto my invention, I coat the outer face of the blank l,preferably beginning adjacent vits tip line edge, with a suitableadhesive coating 2.; This'coating is normally hard and dry, butmay besoftened in any suitable manner, and is preferably 'softened byv andduringthe same lieat or steam treatment in case of a glue coating, whichsoftens the blank generally for. shaping. When sufficiently. softenedthe coating 2.adherently connects the -blankto the toe tip 8, lining anddoubler 4 and vamp 5 of the shoe, thus avoiding the necessity forstitching said parts through and'through to ythe blank.

cient extent and thickness to protect the blank against softening underthe rays of the sun when the finished shoe is displayed in a. showwindow. For this purpose, the coating is extended forwardly of theblank, either partly or substantially completely over the outer facethereof.

Although various adhesive substances may be used in the coating 2,1Vpreferably use a dryjpowrdered starch, powdered glue, dextrine or thelike, alone or in combination, or I may use alhigh melting point asphaltor a glue solution or I may use a combination of asphalt, waxtailingslor the like. Then applied, the coating 2 hardens and may beconveniently. handled without adhering tol the lingers, but is softenedby heat treatment or steam in case of glue, so as to becomewtenaciouslyadherent. The coating 2 may bev applied to the individual blanks-.in anysuitable manner, as by treating to powder or by passing the sheet fromwhich the blanks are struck, or the individual blank itself through atank containing a supply of melted asphalt or a glue solution, or otheradhesive substance. This coating is substantially different from thethermo-plastic saturant of the box'toe blank in that on heat treatmentit becomes much more adhesive than ysaid saturant, but after cooling andstiffening, it is much more heat resista-nt than said saturant. Thiscoating-1nay be applied directly to the blank before layingthe blank inthe shoe.

In assembling a hard box toe blank thus coated in the shoe, the blank inflat, stiff form is inserted between the toe tip and the lining ofthelasted upper and the toe is then placedin a box toe heater. This heattreatment softens the thermo-plastic impregnant of the blankgenerally'to. a point wherein the blank may be shaped and pulled overvwith 'the toe tip and lining.V The same heat treatment also softens theadhesive coating 2V so that it will adhere to the toe tip and 'vamp whenthe toe is wiped, thereby anchoring the box toe blank against movementrelative thereto and preventing the lining from pulling out with thelast Vwhen the last is withdrawn from the formed toe, as frequentlyhappens with a loosely laid blank. In addition, the adhesiveconnection'afforded by the Vcoating 2 avoids the necessity of carryingthe stitches 6,'which unite the overlapping vamp and toe tip' to eachother,`into and through the vbox toeblank itself, and hence permits saidblank to be stiffened to a degree not heretofore practicable.Preferably, the ends of the blank are scarfed, as shown in Fig. l, topermit a smooth joint at the overlap ofthe toe tip and vamp.

l/hen the finished shoe is placed in a show window, the coating 2 actsas a heat resistantilm for the thermo-plastic impregnant of the blank,preventing the blank from softening and sagging out of shape andproducing resistant protective film for the blank in the wrinkles acrossthe toe of the shoe, as now frefinished shoe which acts as a brace ortruss to f quently occurs with the ordinary thermoprevent sagging of thetoe.

plastic box toe blank. In testimony whereof I aflix 1n signature. 5 Theheat insulating effectV of the adhesive JOHN DALY.

may be increased if desired by adding asbestos fiber as shown at 7 inFigurel.

Instead of the adhesive described, I may use as an adhesive, hard glue,dextrine, gutta 10 percha, rubber, or any bituminous or resinousmaterial which is capable of being rendered sticky by contact with asolvent or vapor of the solvent. Such a coating is particularly adaptedfor use with a soft boX toe or toes which do not require to be softenedby heat prior to lasting. With such a coating, it is simply necessary todip the coating edge of the blank in the solvent, or subject said edge'to the vapor of the solvent or to steam in case of glue, until thecoating is rendered sticky.

My invention thus contemplates an unstitched box toe blank to which hasbeen applied an external band of material which upon treatment, eitherby heat, or steam in case' of glue, by immersion in a solvent, or byexposure to the solvent vapor, becomes sufiiciently sticky to adhere tothe toe tip and vamp of the shoe when'the blank is laid in the shoe andof itself adhesively to connect the blank to said parts, and which whenthe finished shoe is exposed to unusual heat, as where displayed in ashow window, serves as a heat-resistant film to'protect the box toeblank from softening and sagging.

These and various other modifications in materials and method oftreatment may all be resorted to within the spirit and scope of myinvention as defined in the appended claims.

l/Vhat I therefore claim and desire to secure 40 by Letters Patent is:

1. As a new article of manufact-ure, a one'- piece thermo-,plasticimpregnated box toe blank having directly applied to one face thereof anexternal and independent adhesive coating of double function,`saidcoating being` substantially different from the thermo-plasticimpregnant of the blank in respect to its heat-resistant properties butsoftening under the same heat treatment which sofens the blank generallyfor lasting and when softened constituting an adherent film adapted'ofitself adhesively to connect the blank to the toe tip and vamp of theshoe y and to serve as a heat resistant protectivek film for thethermo-plastic impregnant of the blank in the finished shoe which filmacts as a brace or truss to prevent sagging of the toe.

2. As a new article .of manufacture, a

thermo-plastic impregnated boX toe blank having directly applied to itsouter face, preparatory to assembling the blank within the shoe, anexternal coating `including an ad-Y hesive substance and heat-resistantfibres incorporated therewith and constituting a heat-

